Aa
Learning to live with anxiety
I have suffered horrible withdrawals from benzos and am into my 3rd year of bad symptoms. I cannot work and am in constant pain, but I am improving a great deal. Some people recover much faster than others from benzos but all must taper very slowly. I am starting to feel my old self again. I have long forgotten what I used to feel like because of psychiatric drugs. I now remember my old anxiety in addition to the constant"speed" like feeling from the benzo damage. Not to mention, numb legs and arms, constant shaking; hot and cold, vibrations..etc. Some people recover much faster than others. Benzos are totally misunderstood in the medical community. You must taper very slowly.
My point is, I now feel the old anxiety and remember the reasons why I took benzos in the first place. Now I have to learn to live with anxiety without any drugs. Drugs (all of them) made everything much worse...never again. Being psych drug free feels like having a black veil lifted from my eyes--I feel human again, it's wonerful. But I will have to learn to live with anxiety.
To parents: Treat your children very well. Love them all you can.
Disclaimer: Some psychiatric drugs work very well for some people. But they are vastly over prescribed. Benzos cause tolerance, rebound anxiety and are addictive.
Below is a quote from someone trying to live with anxiety after being damaged from psych drugs:
We now know that anxiety disorders are partially psychological and mostly
mechanical - so the folks at Upjohn and all the mad scientists developing mind
altering/numbing/damaging chemicals had gotten a pin hole glimpse of the problem
and with great hubris decided to chemically meddle with the most complex entity
in the known universe; the human brain!!
Unlike some adjustment and relationship issues that respond well to talk and
education therapy you cant talk a broken neuron back to health.
Most anxiety disorders start with a birth predisposition to over arousal(or lack
of control) in the CNS -then childhood stress ( dysfunctional families, safety
issues, lack of support or engagement, change or expectations beyond the child's
development stage - and more) starts to reset the CNS into chronic sympathetic
arousal while damaging the GABA and parasympathetic feedback systems.
Based on a complex set of behaviors, thoughts and lifestyle choices allostasis
of the CNS builds until we reach neurological threshold and become symptomatic.
Many anxiety patients do not know how to self-soothe, reduce CNS arousal or
create a life that does not exacerbate the condition.
Since we now know anxiety/panic/OCD/phobias are mechanical breakdowns the
foundational work must address the structure and function of the CNS. You have
to retrain the nervous system out of sympathetic dominance: this is done by
nutrition, active relaxation (this is not laying around), breathing exercises
(have to be done exactly correct to have any effect), meditation, biofeedback,
neurofeedback (promising but not there yet), exercise, CBT, Yoga/Tai
Chi/stretching (stretching tells the brain all is well in the body and then the
brain can drop a few levels of arousal), resolving relationship issues,
spirituality (not religion which can cause more stress and anxiety), support and
education.
Support is huge for anxiety patients because most feel like there is no one to
catch them and if they loosen their grip they will go between the psychic
cracks!! This "effort" is a prime cause of arousal and is a prime example of
childhood issues.
Here is the BIG caution: you will probably not get well by dabbling in just a
few of these modalities, or trying one and then giving up. You have to approach
the CNS over activation from every vantage point - if your diet is ****, you
smoke or drink you will probably stay symptomatic. If you do abdominal breathing
all day but think negative, frightening thoughts you will probably stay
symptomatic.
YOU HAVE TO DO ALL THE WORK - AND IT IS WORK!!
Doctors and most therapists don't understand the work, don't have time to teach
you and have never walked the path to recovery - and if you have never seen the
road it is damn hard to tell someone what it looks like!!
Unfortunately benzos and other psyche drugs can have caused profound alterations
to the CNS, both structurally and biochemically so our work may be harder, take
longer and be more frustrating than if we were working with virgin brains.
There is also some new evidence that protracted withdrawal (over 2 or 3 years)
may be a PSD type reaction called an Emgram. The withdrawal experience has
"Etched" a pattern into the CNS and the brain goes down that same path, month
after month and year after year until it makes a switch - that no one
understands!
It took me over 6 years of short term, low dose benzo use to recover....then
with a bit of fatigue and not much stress I went back into 100% disabling
withdrawals again at 14 years off - it took 6 months to recover. Then 27 months
ago at 19+ years off I went back into it again and am still in benzo symptom at
27+ months, sick and disabled.
I am in daily contact with other benzo people this has happened to and in all
cases we allowed our nervous systems to get to the arousal threshold and once it
did it went back to the memory of withdrawal. Once I was well I got lax, I had
recovered from benzos/panic/anxiety and thought I was home free.
I believe that for a major part of us with anxiety disorders we have a
dysregulated CNS reaching all the way back to childhood and we will have to work
the program and monitor ourselves for life - if done properly we can have a
wonderful, anxiety free life - I know hundreds that have done it...when you get
there it is critical not to ever swim in the deep stress end of the pool AGAIN!!
My point is, I now feel the old anxiety and remember the reasons why I took benzos in the first place. Now I have to learn to live with anxiety without any drugs. Drugs (all of them) made everything much worse...never again. Being psych drug free feels like having a black veil lifted from my eyes--I feel human again, it's wonerful. But I will have to learn to live with anxiety.
To parents: Treat your children very well. Love them all you can.
Disclaimer: Some psychiatric drugs work very well for some people. But they are vastly over prescribed. Benzos cause tolerance, rebound anxiety and are addictive.
Below is a quote from someone trying to live with anxiety after being damaged from psych drugs:
We now know that anxiety disorders are partially psychological and mostly
mechanical - so the folks at Upjohn and all the mad scientists developing mind
altering/numbing/damaging chemicals had gotten a pin hole glimpse of the problem
and with great hubris decided to chemically meddle with the most complex entity
in the known universe; the human brain!!
Unlike some adjustment and relationship issues that respond well to talk and
education therapy you cant talk a broken neuron back to health.
Most anxiety disorders start with a birth predisposition to over arousal(or lack
of control) in the CNS -then childhood stress ( dysfunctional families, safety
issues, lack of support or engagement, change or expectations beyond the child's
development stage - and more) starts to reset the CNS into chronic sympathetic
arousal while damaging the GABA and parasympathetic feedback systems.
Based on a complex set of behaviors, thoughts and lifestyle choices allostasis
of the CNS builds until we reach neurological threshold and become symptomatic.
Many anxiety patients do not know how to self-soothe, reduce CNS arousal or
create a life that does not exacerbate the condition.
Since we now know anxiety/panic/OCD/phobias are mechanical breakdowns the
foundational work must address the structure and function of the CNS. You have
to retrain the nervous system out of sympathetic dominance: this is done by
nutrition, active relaxation (this is not laying around), breathing exercises
(have to be done exactly correct to have any effect), meditation, biofeedback,
neurofeedback (promising but not there yet), exercise, CBT, Yoga/Tai
Chi/stretching (stretching tells the brain all is well in the body and then the
brain can drop a few levels of arousal), resolving relationship issues,
spirituality (not religion which can cause more stress and anxiety), support and
education.
Support is huge for anxiety patients because most feel like there is no one to
catch them and if they loosen their grip they will go between the psychic
cracks!! This "effort" is a prime cause of arousal and is a prime example of
childhood issues.
Here is the BIG caution: you will probably not get well by dabbling in just a
few of these modalities, or trying one and then giving up. You have to approach
the CNS over activation from every vantage point - if your diet is ****, you
smoke or drink you will probably stay symptomatic. If you do abdominal breathing
all day but think negative, frightening thoughts you will probably stay
symptomatic.
YOU HAVE TO DO ALL THE WORK - AND IT IS WORK!!
Doctors and most therapists don't understand the work, don't have time to teach
you and have never walked the path to recovery - and if you have never seen the
road it is damn hard to tell someone what it looks like!!
Unfortunately benzos and other psyche drugs can have caused profound alterations
to the CNS, both structurally and biochemically so our work may be harder, take
longer and be more frustrating than if we were working with virgin brains.
There is also some new evidence that protracted withdrawal (over 2 or 3 years)
may be a PSD type reaction called an Emgram. The withdrawal experience has
"Etched" a pattern into the CNS and the brain goes down that same path, month
after month and year after year until it makes a switch - that no one
understands!
It took me over 6 years of short term, low dose benzo use to recover....then
with a bit of fatigue and not much stress I went back into 100% disabling
withdrawals again at 14 years off - it took 6 months to recover. Then 27 months
ago at 19+ years off I went back into it again and am still in benzo symptom at
27+ months, sick and disabled.
I am in daily contact with other benzo people this has happened to and in all
cases we allowed our nervous systems to get to the arousal threshold and once it
did it went back to the memory of withdrawal. Once I was well I got lax, I had
recovered from benzos/panic/anxiety and thought I was home free.
I believe that for a major part of us with anxiety disorders we have a
dysregulated CNS reaching all the way back to childhood and we will have to work
the program and monitor ourselves for life - if done properly we can have a
wonderful, anxiety free life - I know hundreds that have done it...when you get
there it is critical not to ever swim in the deep stress end of the pool AGAIN!!
Ok I will do my best not to take any. I started reading about them and they did kind of scare me. It really helps to calm my nerves down and get me to sleep, it seems like when I take the lexapro my initial reaction is that I am tired, but then I become wired and anxious... Thank you for sharing your experiences though I really appreciate it. I hope that you too are feeling well.
I hope you do feel better. I highly recommend that you quit the Xanax. Google the word benzodiazepine and read all about the drug you are taking. Find some benzo boards, but keep in mind that you take very little and for only two weeks and a benzo board will scare you. This forum has posts about Xanax and other benzos--but don't let it scare you Brian. You hardly take any at all and for a very short time, but you should stop the Xanax. I assume that you take .25mg a day. Maybe cut a little off each dose for a few days, then stop. Benzodiazepines are very addictive and high anxiety people are very sensitive to the rebound anxiety that can happen at some point in time. But don't take Xanax. Xanax is banned in Britain, but not here.
Best to you,
abby
Best to you,
abby
I understand that I am just starting a medication and you were making it seem like they are useless and I am just hoping that they will make me feel better. I have taken .25 xanax for about 2 weeks now and I dont want to get addicted to them, although my doctor said it would be ok for the short term use. I didnt mean to sound so negative I am sorry.
You're not "doomed" no body is doomed. Think about it. I have to talk to my self and tell myself to calm down. Iike two people--one telling the other one to slow down. I need to learn how to breath.
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